An area of clinical practice that attempts to compensate for or supplement either temporarily or permanently the impairment, activity and participation patterns of individuals who have difficulty receiving or expressing their desired messages.

Many of the resources on this site were originally compiled by David Beukelman, who had a distinguished career as a leader in the area of augmentative and alternative communication. Beukelman retired in 2014 after 29 years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He died Feb. 5, 2022, but remains an influential figure in AAC. Throughout his career, Beukelman's research and work centered on providing services to people with neurological conditions that interfered with their ability to communicate effectively. You can read more about his life and career here.